Author Topic: 1940s nun  (Read 1494 times)

Offline MrsS2012

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1940s nun
« on: Monday 02 March 20 20:26 GMT (UK) »
Just a quick one. My mum was told that one of her aunts became a nun after she lost her boyfriend in the second ww. Is there anyway I can find evidence of this? I did see an earlier thread on here about finding a nun and someone had posted a link to an index but the link doesn't seem to work?
It would have been around the 1940s/50s so I don't know if that's too recent?

Offline Girl Guide

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #1 on: Monday 02 March 20 21:38 GMT (UK) »
Have you located the aunt in the 1939 register to see where she was at that time?  It may give a clue as to where she joined an order of nuns.

You could then see what convents or religious orders were in the same sort of area.
Ashford: Somerset, London
England: Devon, London, New Zealand
Holdway: Wiltshire
Hooper: Bristol, Somerset
Knowling: Devon, London
Southcott: Devon, China
Strong: Wiltshire
Watson: Cambridgeshire
White: Bristol
Windo - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

Offline MrsS2012

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #2 on: Monday 02 March 20 22:26 GMT (UK) »
Have you located the aunt in the 1939 register to see where she was at that time?  It may give a clue as to where she joined an order of nuns.

You could then see what convents or religious orders were in the same sort of area.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any information on her other then a birth record.. When I questioned my mum about it she told me the nun story. I know she was born in East London so I'll maybe look into convents around there?

Offline Girl Guide

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #3 on: Monday 02 March 20 22:32 GMT (UK) »
Worth a try.  When was the aunt born?
Ashford: Somerset, London
England: Devon, London, New Zealand
Holdway: Wiltshire
Hooper: Bristol, Somerset
Knowling: Devon, London
Southcott: Devon, China
Strong: Wiltshire
Watson: Cambridgeshire
White: Bristol
Windo - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire


Offline heywood

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #4 on: Monday 02 March 20 23:17 GMT (UK) »
Have you looked for a death for her?
It would be difficult if the surname is common but you have a birth registration date which might help.
Might there be family obituaries with a mention.
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Offline chempat

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 03 March 20 06:57 GMT (UK) »
Do you want to give us her name, to help you look for deaths etc.

Offline MrsS2012

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 03 March 20 08:10 GMT (UK) »
My mum only knew her as Peggy. I found a 1926 birth index for a Margaret L Douglas MMN is Hales (Hales being my great grandmother's surname so assume this is our Peggy) . I did find her mother Emily Douglas living in Bedford on the 1939 register but the other names are blanked out so if she's on there I can't see her. This is literally all I have found.

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 03 March 20 08:56 GMT (UK) »
If you have no idea what order she was in its going to be difficult to find out more.
Are there any other family members of the older generations still around? Do you have cousins/aunts/uncles who may have some information. Often different branches of the family know and remember different things.

If the family were catholic, you could try asking in their home parish, there may be something in the parish records or older parishioners who may remember her. Or contact the Diocese for the area, they too may hold information or be able to point you in the right direction. I'd start by getting a copy of that birth register entry, her d.o.b. may help an archivist at the Diocese.

I have been able to find information for two relatives who were nuns. For the first I knew the order and also her religious name and that she had spent a long time (including during WW2) in France. Originally I contacted the mother house to enquire if they were able to provide any information. They were very helpful and I got a lot of info from them. I also later managed to find an online database of those (prior to 1933) who took their vows in France which included my relative.

For the second, I had no idea that she had been a nun. I found her on an electoral register and noted that the address only had females listed. I searched the web and found that address was a convent/ teacher's training school.
I also found a death registration (which had her birth date on it)  and then a burial record for her. The other occupants of the grave were also all female, so I contacted the cemetery dept and asked if they could tell me if the grave was maybe purchased by the order. Up to then I didn't know if she'd been a lay teacher who worked at a convent school or a member of the order.
Turned out the grave was purchased by the order so then I contacted the order who confirmed she had been a nun and very helpfully provided me with more info and also told me that someone else had enquired about the same lady and, if I wished, they would pass on my contact details to the other person. That, in turn, led to a lot more  new information for me.

NB all the above took many years, tiny piece of info by tiny piece. Each little snippet I found eventually led me further, but it was a long and slow process.

The moral is, don't expect immediate results, but do keep poking round the records, ask anyone and everyone you can if they remember her and, if so, do they have any idea which order, where she may have been based, could they even describe the habit she wore etc etc. Any tiny bit could help with your search.

Good luck with it

Boo

Offline chempat

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Re: 1940s nun
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 03 March 20 09:05 GMT (UK) »
Might be useful to get her birth certificate for exact date of birth - can help in confirmation of records.